Land your dream podcast guests with Danny Miranda

Akta: What does it take to create a top 1% podcast in the world with guests like Gary Vaynerchuk, Derek Silvers, and Colin and Samir? 

Danny: Listen to yourself. Are you creating things that are in line authentically with yourself? And also listen to the audience. 

Akta: Danny Miranda has run his podcast, the Danny Miranda Show for the last three years, and he's built a name for himself by focusing on his guests and having great conversation instead of obsessing over downloads, he joined us on air to share his process of reaching out to guests, doing research and making great conversation that audiences love to listen to.

Danny: It started from the idea of like, there are so many amazing people. And I would love to talk to them. I was, the story that I usually give people is, I started the podcast because I had amazing phone conversations with people randomly on the internet by tweeting who wants to talk on the phone. And so that is part true.

But the other part that I normally leave out is that at this time, in July of 2020, I was, I'd probably read more books in the past three months than any three months of my life from March, 2020 to July. And so I was saying to myself, I want to talk to these authors. I want to talk to the people who write these books because they're changing my life.

And I've been fortunate enough to have interviewed some of those people, but it's only through the podcast did I get that opportunity. Mm-hmm. And I wanted to talk to the people who were shaping my thoughts because I was so inspired by them. 

Akta: I think it's so cool that you tweeted people to have phone calls.

I don't know why I can actually imagine you doing that. Um, but I find it really interesting because your podcast is your name, so it's like the Danny Miranda podcast, which I think is so unique, like, whereas most podcasts are very specific to like a, a niche or something. What inspired you to use your own name for your podcast?

Danny: I knew that I didn't know what shape it would take, which how the, the podcast would actually end up turning out. I didn't know myself well enough to be like, this is going to be the podcast. And even now I'm, I'm changing the description of it all the time and I don't know what form it's gonna take and five years from now, it's gonna be way different than it is today.

But I figured what's probably going to stay consistent throughout this is probably my name. And when I reflected back on this further, I realized. That might not even be true because if you look at someone like Richard Albert turning into Ron Doss, it was like that, the name E wasn't even consistent throughout his life, but I figured for most people, for the far majority, the consistent theme that this podcast will run is that it's through my experience.

Akta: So had you ever been worried though, about the niche and where, where the podcast is gonna go, has that ever been something that held you back almost? 

Danny: Yeah, so one of the books that I read in this time was The Surrender Experiment by Michael Singer, and it basically says, trust the flow of life. The flow of life is smarter than you are.

And because of this, I felt as if, you know, whatever niche I'm bucketed into over a long enough time, horizon is the niche that I'm supposed to be in. And I will find, and what's so funny about this is like so many people think that I'm in their world or I'm in their niche, or I'm doing their. And the truth is, I'm just doing me and like if I talk to someone in the e-com world and talk to somebody in the YouTube world and I don't know what is going on in all of those worlds, I just know who's interesting to me.

So yeah, that it's a funny thing that happens. 

Akta: I love that. I love that the flow of life is, is smarter than you. I'm gonna definitely be using that. Um, but I think it's great as well because so much of the advice that like I personally hear as a creator is you need to niche down in order to grow and to blow up.

And it's really nice to see that. You've been growing so much without having this boxed in niche. And I guess one of the reasons why it's grown so well is how consistent you are as well. I mean, like you do two, two or three episodes a week, which is just something that I can't get my head around because I, so for this podcast, I do 12 episodes in a season because I can manage that.

And I've always wondered what is your system for. Contacting, like how often are you contacting guests? How often are you thinking about batch filming or are you just constantly filming? Like, what does your actual system look like? 

Danny: I don't have a system and I don't like, and sometimes I feel like I should, and sometimes I see people with their notion templates and I'm, I'm jealous of them, and I'm like, wow, I wish I, I'm, I was the type of person to do it that way.

But basically it starts with the idea of like, You have three episodes a week to do Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. An episode will be going out every one of those days, so figure it out. And then I, I just reverse engineered from there and I'm like, all right, well, I'm two weeks ahead right now, so if I'm two weeks ahead and I have these guests lined up and I know one or two people are gonna cancel, what does that mean?

How, who do I have to reach out to now? So it basically starts with the idea of like, there are episodes that are going to go live, and then I just reverse engineer it from there. It's a lot simpler than you think, you 

Akta: know? I mean, you make it sound so simple, but for me it's just like, okay, I need to set aside the time for, for outreach and also figuring out who to ask as well, which I think is sometimes not as simple as you think it's gonna be.

And I guess it's all one of my questions for you because how are you actually. Choosing which guest you want to have on. Is it just people who inspire you or do you kind of have a a strategy for it as well? 

Danny: So what's super cool at this point is like amazing people are coming to me. Okay. I mean, it's just like they see some of their friends being interviewed and they're like, yo, will you interview me too?

And I'm like, Sometimes I'm like, wow, like, you know, which is, is a whole other thing because that person isn't inspiring me. I guess what I, the best way to describe it is what I'm actually looking for is somebody who lights me up while I'm doing the research process. So I'll, I'll go through their stuff, their, their surface level stuff, their Twitter, their LinkedIn, their YouTube channel, and I'll be like, Does this person give me a feeling that makes me wanna look deeper?

And it's not a reflection of them, it's a reflection of me and where I'm at in my own life in this moment. And so when I tell someone no, I don't feel bad because I'm saying to myself, this person's just not lighting me up in this moment, but I know that, you know, an N B A player. When I was 15 years old, was lighting me up so much.

Like that was my inspirations, my role models my heroes and is like, well now not as much, but that's okay. That's just the flow of life. And maybe in the future when I have a child, like an N b A player will light me up to another extreme. You know what I mean? So it's like, yeah, I don't view whether or not that person's exciting to me in that moment as a reflection of them.

I just look at it as a reflection myself. 

Akta: I love that because it's really obvious when you listen to your podcast that you're actually. Very enthusiastic about it and like you actually have energy for it versus, I'm just doing it for the sake of doing it. But I also think you're really bold because of some of the guests that you've had on or reached out to.

So like 72 days after starting your podcast, you've got Gary Von, which I can't even fathom that, that you've got someone so big on your podcast. So early on when you weren't really a well-known podcaster at the time, how did you. Go about that and like what is your process of reaching out to guests that you're getting the guests that you want on the podcast?

Actually there? 

Danny: Yeah. So this was a crazy, crazy situation and I, it's, it's even wilder because my next door neighbor is a 15 year old kid who asked me in August of 2020 when I was just launching the podcast, podcast, he was saying to me, Dude, what would you do if someone like Joe Rogan or Gary Vaynerchuk came on your podcast?

Now, this is in August of 2021. I had even released a single episode and I was just talking to him about it, and I said to him, I said to him, dude, I wouldn't even want that. I'm not good enough as a host yet. I don't know how to take this conversation. I don't know anything. Why would I wanna have that person on?

And so I got, That actually happened and I was like, what? What is going on? And um, it happened because I put out on Twitter a screenshot of a blog post that I wrote about him, Gary V in 2009. So when I was telling you before about how I was writing back then, I was 13 years old writing a time management blog.

And one of the people who were interesting to me in 2009 was Gary V. And I tweeted out that screenshot of that blog post. And then I was like, I've had an eye for talent since I was a young kid. Here's this blog post. And he followed me from that. Wow. That blog post. And after he followed me, I screenshotted that, he followed me, tweeted that out, and then people in the comments just went wild of being like, yo, you gotta go on this podcast.

You and he, he actually did, and two weeks later we were recording an interview. It was a moment where I don't think I could ever. Give somebody, uh, like what it actually felt like. It felt like I'd won the Super Bowl or the World Cup as you, you know, it just felt like this, this, like this beautiful feeling of like, wow, this is an unbelievable experience.

And it only happened because I started this podcast. Yeah. And it was a wink from the universe, is what I like to call them. Is like, you're on the right path. Keep going. And, and yeah. 

Akta: What did it do for you personally as a host to give you more confidence? 

Danny: So this was actually the first episode that I recorded with video, the G episode.

Oh, no way. Yeah, because I was like, all right, well, I, I'm gonna have to do this video because I want it to be shared more times, and I want to, I want to actually bring this experience. So what it did for me was it had me leaning into video for all the episodes going forward, or as many of them as I could.

And that really changed things because from video, then you start playing a different game where now, You start doing timestamps and then you start doing clips and then, you know, like it, it adds layers to it. So I have Gary Vita. Thank 

Akta: for that. And what's worked, like, what's worked best for you for actually growing the podcast?

Like is it. Is it doing it on YouTube? Is it like certain growth strategies on Twitter? Like what's actually helped you to grow? Because you've interviewed so many people now and your downloads is crazy. 

Danny: Yeah, well the crazy thing is like going back to the systems, I'm so bad at tracking things. Really? I'm so bad.

Yeah. Because I'm just like, let me just do a bunch of stuff and see what works. And I don't know if it's the guests, I don't know if it's the clips. I don't know if it's random tweets that I'm putting out. Like I truly. Do not have any attribution. And if I was running the Danny Miranda podcast as a employee, I'd be like, Oh my God.

Like I can't tell my boss. I don't, I don't have good answers like for what actually works, but the truth is the energy that I put into the show is equivalent to the amount that I get back in terms of downloads, response and connection with people. And I, there was a time for the second year of the podcast, so for context, the first year of the podcast, I did three episodes a week because I wanted to get reps in and I wanted to get better as a host.

The second year I did. Episodes whenever I felt like it. And so that turned out to be two episodes a week, but that was random. Two episodes a week for the third year, which I'm in now, we went back to a three a week schedule and added in-person episodes and added clips and added, uh, just like more energy to it.

And so because of that, I've noticed an increase in the amount of downloads and increase in the amount of connection with people who are listening. 

Akta: Yeah, I think it's not even just your energy, I think it's how good you are at just leading a normal conversation. So thank you. Doesn't feel like an interview, and I've said this before when we had our podcast, like it just felt so natural.

How, I mean, what is the secret to leading a great conversation, do you think? I mean, I know that's a hard question to answer, but I'm, I'm really intrigued to how you approach these conversations. 

Danny: Yeah, I appreciate you saying that because sometimes I'll be like, oh, I could have done this better, or, oh, I could have done that.

And so really well, you notice your own flaws. You're the, you're the worst critic usually. And so, I mean, for me, what, what it comes down to is a couple of things. One is like deep presence. Am I there sitting with that person and have I sat with myself? Have I listened to myself that day? Have I connected with myself?

Because if you haven't connected with yourself, how the hell are you going to connect with another person? Mm-hmm. So that's like the baseline layer. Have you connected with yourself? The second layer is like, Have I connected with this person before talking to them? Meaning have I done research about them?

This is just my process. Not everyone needs to do it like this, but, and Larry King is a perfect example of somebody who didn't do any research and was phenomenal at connecting with guests. But for me, I want to know the random stuff about that person because it gives me confidence when I know random stuff about someone else's life that no other interviewer has known before.

I say to myself, I'm more prepared than anybody who's ever interviewed this person, ever. So why shouldn't I be confident into going into this conversation? And so that combined with the, you pick up things from doing it a lot and you know, you do a 300. 39 times you're gonna, you're gonna pick up on things that you don't even realize you're doing.

For example, my friend texted me the other day, he was like, dude, I loved how you asked this guest, how do you feel about a statement that you made? And I responded to him and I was like, I don't even realize that I did that. And thank you for pointing that out, because that's not something that was, was conscious until he pointed it out.

So I think that those few pillars are why. And how I can lead a conversation that I'm, I'm happy with. 

Akta: Yeah, you did that in our podcast call as well, and I thought it was just really, it was really clever actually, because it made me reflect on my own content, which not many people make me do. Um, but I'm really interested more to about this research.

Like how do you actually approach the research? What, when you say random, what specifically are you looking for or like what do you actually write down that picture interest? 

Danny: Yeah, that's a great question. For me, it is about, it's, it goes back to the connection piece with self and saying, what lights me up?

And also what is going to bring a smile to this person's face? For example, I'm interviewing Steph Smith later today, and I know that her sister was in her words way smarter than her, and that forced her to be more competitive. When I tell Steph Smith this myself in a few hours, she's gonna say to me, Oh my God.

Like the fact that you know that. How do you know that? Or even if she doesn't say that, she's going to be thinking it because it's such a random piece of information on the internet that helps inform who she is. So I'm not looking for what people do, which is what a lot of podcasts do, which is understandable.

I'm looking for who they are. And because I'm asking who they are, people feel seen, people feel appreciated. People feel like, wow, no one's ever understood me or asked me about this before. I have so much love for the person interviewing me because they gave me love for myself. And so that is really what I'm doing and that's what I'm trying to pick out on, is what are the things that shape this person and how can I give them a little smile or internal joy that they might not otherwise experience?

Akta: Yeah, I think it's really nice cause it also, I've, well I feel like for me anyway, it made me feel more comfortable as well being in that conversation. Um, are there any other things that you do to try and make your guests feel more comfortable to actually open up Yes. And be more vulnerable online?

Danny: Absolutely. So one thing that I recently did was, so. I had an episode with Harley Finklestein recently, and he's the Shopify president, and I was listening to an episode that he was doing, and I w I heard that he, he went to high school right by my grandparents' house, and it just so happened that my grandparents, I was staying with my grandparents while listening to this episode, so I passed by his high school and I didn't really know exactly how to.

Put this in the conversation, but before the interview started, I said to him, Hey Harley, just wanna let you know, like I was just by your high school with my grandparents. And 20 minutes into the conversation he tells me, he says, you know, I wasn't planning on talking about this, but my grandmother actually passed away this morning and, and is like, It was so upsetting to hear that, but I'm so grateful that he shared it and I felt so.

I was like, wow. The work that I had done prior to this made him open in this moment to share like, and, and us to have an incredible moment together. And yeah, I think that, The key piece of that is like, how can you appreciate someone before even the recording starts, and how can you connect with them deeply?

And because the interview doesn't actually start, When the recording button goes on, the interview actually starts, if you're meeting someone for the first time, when you first make eye contact with them, we're all sizing each other up as human beings, and it's like we're trying to figure out what type of energy they have, how they're speaking cadence works, and so that we can connect with them deeply in that moment.

So I think. Keeping that in mind and actually connecting with them prior to recording is helpful. Another thing that I've done for in-person interviews is give someone a book that they love or that something is, is fascinating them in that moment because that makes them also feel seen and appreciated.

So all of that goes to say, how can you see somebody before you actually talk to them and record and then while recording as well, so that they could feel more comfortable in the other 

Akta: chair. I love that. That's so human. It's just so like heartwarming. What about after the podcast call? How do you, you know, maintain those relationships so it doesn't just feel like a transaction where you've just had the podcast call and then cool, I'm done with you.

Like, how do you maintain the relationship after I. 

Danny: Yeah, so it's a great question and something that I'm thinking about a lot because I do so many of these. So it's like, how do you become friends? How do you have deep relationships with also scale of episodes, right? But one thing that I, I'm thinking about doing is like I'm living in Austin, Texas, is like bringing everyone together who has appeared on the podcast as well as people that I are just friends of mine.

And so that we could all connect and we could all be in the same room and. That could lead to this person talking to this person unexpectedly, but. I mean, you, you should, have you been to Austin, 

Akta: Texas? No, I haven't. Oh, would love to though. Yeah. 

Danny: Well, it's like the best place in the world for people creating stuff on the internet.

I really, yeah, it's just, it's such an open community. Everyone's so kind. Everyone is, so everyone is doing their own thing and has, and is building their own thing. So I think you really enjoy it and it fosters this openness and connection and community. And you probably shouldn't come because if you do, you probably won't want to go back to the uk.

So I love, 

Akta: love your confidence there. 

Danny: Trust me. It's the best place ever. And I had, I visited three times and I was like, oh, damn it, I'm gonna have to move here. But, oh, but the, the point being that it's like I. I'm really trying to go out of my way to text people and, and connect with them. And I think one cool thing to do that anyone could, could do is, is like when you come across a piece of content, Like telling the person that you, that you consumed it and that you enjoyed it can go a long way in creating a connection when someone comes to mind.

Like just telling them. And it also could be someone you don't even know, right? Like, like people message me all the time and be like, I just listen to this podcast episode. Great job or whatever that, that's helpful. And that's like a connection point I have to that person now. And so, yeah, I think that doing stuff like that, For my guests, for people's content that I stumbled across has been really helpful in maintaining that connection.

Akta: Yeah, I think you do that really well because I think it was after my podcast that you mentioned to Paul Millard. Oh. Like, you know, after I think you guys would get on and you know, hearing that from him was like, oh, that's really nice that after our podcast call, you still thought of me and mentioned me to somebody else.

So I think it's really nice that you foster that sense of almost community and like within your own. You know, network of guests. Um, has there been any guests that have been the most memorable in almost like shaping who you are as a podcast host and what you bring onto the show? That's a 

Danny: great question.

Um, Chris Williamson is a huge one. So this is a story that I don't know if I've shared publicly after my episode with Chris Williamson, which was, I think in like, Early 2021, like we talked for 20 minutes after the show and he basically was like, dude, you've got it. Like you, you can be great at this. Like if you, with your work rate, with your, the things that you put into the show, the amount that you are improving, like, like I would bet on you.

And so to hear that from somebody I so deeply admired and then to see his success over the past few years. Like, to me it's so re reaffirming and it's a place that I go back to often if I'm like, if I'm like, what am I doing here? Like, am I doing the right thing? Yeah. Is this actually gonna work out? Like what is, what is wrong with me?

Like, why am I so confident in myself? Like, and if I go to that other place, then I hear Chris Williamson's voice. And that is, has been very helpful for me. And that was one interaction two years ago. Wow. And it's like it's still ringing in my head and I still think about it often. So it just goes to show like the right people saying the right thing at the right time can really impact someone for months, years, decades.

Yeah. And I'll never forget that. 

Akta: Definitely sometimes it's good to have, even though you're not meant to have it. That little bit of validation really does help you go a long way. Um, have you ever struggled to, because your focus is on your guests, do you ever struggle with building your own? I guess personal brand or, you know, being your own creator, like has that ever been an issue that you're trying to, like, juggle or figure out?

Danny: Yeah, it's a good question. It's something I'm considering more and more, which is like, people can listen to an episode, but they might not actually know who I am. And yeah, it's, it's designed to be that way because it's not about me, it's the Danny Miranda podcast, but it's not about me at all. And I, I like that.

And, you know, part of me is like, All right. Maybe I should let people know who I am, what I've done, and I should make that more of a forefront so that people can connect deeper with the episodes. So yes, it's very top of mind, especially now because I've noticed I. And I get feedback of that multiple times from different places of like, yeah, but like, who are you?

And it's a fair criticism and one that I'm, I'm excited to explore hopefully this year. 

Akta: So how do you plan to approach that of letting people get to know you whilst you also want to bring the attention onto your guests? Like how do you think that will look like? Or is that something that you're still trying to figure 

Danny: out?

So I think that it looks like. In different YouTube videos talking about some of the things and the experiments that I've done. That's just like top of mind of how I would do it. So it wouldn't be in the episode itself, but maybe like a video of, you know, the impact that 75 hard had on me, or the impact that meditating 60 minutes a day for.

Eight months had on me, or Oh wow. The impact that going on a retreat had on me. Like, all these things have shaped the podcast before I even started the podcast. Mm-hmm. And I think that there's a lot of things that people probably don't know about me that could help inform some of the questions that I ask and why I ask them.

That way. 

Akta: So, yeah. Yeah. I mean, I feel like I would watch all of those videos, first of all. And even just hearing you say that has already given me so much of an insight into why you are the way you are. Exactly. So you definitely need to be doing that. Um, have you monetized the podcast? 

Danny: So yes, I've gone through experiences of monetizing it and what I find.

And what I've recently come to is that I don't want to be selling other people's products, at least at this time. I want to be creating and selling my own. And so I had a couple of different sponsors, which I'm super grateful for, of my first million sponsoring the show than Sriram and Art's. Good Time Show or Arty Andre Rom's.

Good time Show ladies first. Um, that, that. Both of those podcasts sponsored me because they had incredible experiences on my show and they wanted to support me. So it was a super nice thing for them to do, and I'm super grateful for it. But I realized like, It makes sense for them because I'm actually consuming their stuff.

But then there's like other companies that wanna come in and sponsor me. And working with comp companies is like a whole, it's a whole thing. Like you need to, you know, there's contracts to look over, there's back and forth with emails. It's very time consuming for me, and I don't have a business manager, anyone who's doing this for me.

And so, I'm like, I don't wanna do this. I wanna sell my own stuff. So I, I've started to go down that route of selling course that, that I'm building out selling coaching as well. So like, I'm trying to think about like, how do I create experiences that I can back with my own name and, and products that I myself create.

Another thing that I'm thinking about is like, You know, those cards that like create connection and ask questions like what if I had a card deck that was related to mm-hmm. Creating connection, like that's something that I could get behind and get excited about. What if a journal, so I'm just like, I'm thinking about how do I sell my own products because as much as I love Athletic Greens, I've never taken Athletic Greens, but it's like they, they sponsor every podcast.

How can I be different? How can I be myself? Cuz that's how I built the podcast. Being different, being myself and doing my own thing. So, Yeah, that, that's kind of my take on monetizing 

Akta: the show. No, I love that because it's uh, it's very authentic and I think it's also hard for you as well when you are, when you're choosing sponsors, when your guests are quite varied.

It's almost like, okay, my audience is probably quite varied as well, and choosing a sponsor that would fit your audience then becomes very, very complicated. So I guess it makes sense for you to go down the route of your own products. So how would you then go about, um, leveraging your audience to share your products?

Would it be through the podcasts or? Would it be through other means? 

Danny: Yeah. I mean, it would be through Twitter, it would be through the podcast. It would be through just letting people know, um, like any way I could and YouTube videos, like whatever, whatever it is that I do. You know, just, you know what I realized, like what, what YouTubers do, what people who create content are, are doing is they're really just communicating with, with the world.

And so, It's like the job of a good YouTuber, podcaster, whatever, is just to communicate to their audience or to the world, their thing. And so yeah, that's what I would do. I would just continue to communicate and it sounds so simple, but what, when when I broke it down like that, it really helped me understand like what it is I'm actually doing.

Yeah. I'm just communicating with the world. 

Akta: Yeah. How did you actually figure out, what was your, your thing, I guess like your thing is, you know, the communication. How did you figure out, okay, this is the thing that I'm really good at and this is what my audience might find valuable and you know, therefore I should maybe think about monetizing this way?

Danny: I. Yeah. Um, I guess dms are very helpful when, when people ask you consistently over and over and over again, how do you get this guest? How, what, how do you connect with this person? Why are you good at conversation? I'm like, I don't know, like is the first response to that. But then you, you try to reverse engineer the thought process and, and what is going on and how you did the thing you did, because I think that.

If people asking you the same question over and over and over again happens, other people have the question, they just haven't reached out and asked it. So yeah, that, that's been how I've figured out what I'm good at. Just looking and seeing how people are responding to the things that I'm putting into 

Akta: the world.

And what are your long-term goals for the podcast now that you are on year three? Like where do you hope the podcast will go? 

Danny: I wanna sell out Madison Square Garden and Madison Square Garden for the UK. Audiences is, uh, the place where I saw the New York Knicks, a professional basketball team play, and I would take the train in and it's 19,763 people are in that stadium and they're watching the Knicks every, every night it seems like.

So I want to do that, and I want to create that experience for. My podcast guest. I want to create that experience for listeners of the show, and I want to just build it to that level because I'm like, how cool would that be? You know? How exciting would that be? How much joy would that fill? My 15 year old self or my 27 year old self currently is like, That, that's really what I, I'm aiming to do at this point in my 

Akta: life.

That is so cool. I can actually see you doing that. And it reminds me of, I think Steven Bartlett, he's got a podcast and he did a live show as well. I can definitely see you going in that direction. I hope I get to be there when you are doing it in the audience, in your That'd be so cool. Um, I'm 

Danny: gonna, I have something special that I want to, like, get for the guests or like a special appreciation.

I don't know if it's a party, I don't know if it's something, but I, I definitely am planning and thinking about that. And you, you would be invited to 

Akta: that? Of course. Oh, that's so, I feel so touched. I'm just glad that I got to be on your podcast. Like, even that for me was such a cool honor. Like, I was still, you know, I'm still right now quite taken aback by it.

Like, I'm like, does that actually happen? Um, I'm gonna end with a quick fire round, so I'm gonna ask you five questions. I ask all the guests that come on air, starting with what's your favorite thing about being a creator? 

Danny: The fact that I can explore my curiosities publicly and other people can connect with them.

Akta: I love that. And what gives you the most inspiration when you create

Danny: the highest version of myself? Ooh, knowing that I'm creating for the person who. I would like to be in the future in some respect. 

Akta: That is such a good answer. I I love that answer. Um, what's one tool that helps you as a creator? A 

Danny: microphone. It works. I can't, when 

Akta: it works, when it works 

Danny: for those in the audience are listening.

We had some technical di difficulties here, but without a microphone, I can't do what I do. And so, and if you think of it even deeper, I could, but it's the voice. The voice is the tool. Mm-hmm. And so how do I hone my voice to get it to be the place that I want it to be? And so, yeah, I think about that often.

Like a voice is a tool. And I look to rappers, musicians who have used their voice to create change all the time so that I can understand how do people do this? Oh, 

Akta: so interesting. So do you actually think about your voice even in terms of like the way that you are speaking then? Oh, of 

Danny: course. Yeah. 

Akta: So important.

Wow. Okay. Maybe I need to look into that as well since I do this as well. Um, and what's something that helps you with your creative work life balance? 

Danny: Meditating I couldn't do and handle. The amount of stimulus that comes in is today. It's crazy compared to what it was a year ago. Yeah, or two years ago.

There's a lot of people who want my attention and a lot of people who, who are coming at me, and I'm so grateful for it. And the thing is, I wouldn't be able to put up with that or understand it or have good responses to it, not just reactions if it wasn't for meditating first. So meditating 20 minutes a day, just having a timer.

My timers right here, hopefully. Yeah. So this is my timer, kitchen timer, and it's just like, It reminds me to meditate. It reminds me to just sit with nothingness because from nothingness, the podcast has come about truly. Mm-hmm. And what time of day do you do that ideally? Right when waking up. Mm-hmm. For the 20 minutes.

And if I can't do it in the morning, then it's either in the afternoon or evening, but it's not. If I miss a day, I miss a day. You know, that's part of the process as well. Yeah. But when I do it consistently, I, I notice a difference. And so, yeah. That 

Akta: helps me. No, that's really cool. And what's one piece of advice that you would give to other creators?

Danny: Listen to yourself. Are you creating things that are in line authentically with yourself? And also listen to the audience. Listen to people's comments, listen and hear. What are they saying? Why are they saying it? Listening is the number one skill. And I think there should be like a listening school or something like that.

Akta: I'm a school you could run. I mean, you're very good at listening. 

Danny: Thank you. Yeah. I appreciate that. 

Akta: Um, no, thank you so much Danny. Like you've been amazing. Yeah. You've been like, your conversations are always just so effortless. Like I'm just in awe of it. 

Danny: I appreciate that tremendously. It, it takes a lot of effort to create something that seems effortless and I, I hope people understand that when you're looking at, you know, a professional basketball player, shoot, it's like that to them.

It looks effortless. It looks like anyone could do it, but it took a lot of effort to get to that point. I feel the same way about the conversations that I, I create and I hope that, you know, with the, with the listening piece, I hope people really. Like listen to themselves to create something that is in alignment with them because that's where all the joy has come from me, and I think for other people as well.

Akta: No, I think that's a really good point to end with because a lot of people will talk about listening to your audience and doing everything for your audience, but like it does all start with you. And I think that's a really important point to consider, and that's why your content has come across so authentically.

Even though your content is focused on other people, like you still do shine through just because. You are so genuine with everyone that you come across. So yeah, thank you so much again for an amazing conversation. Like a second time now I've got to chat with you and I feel like every time I leave you I'm always feeling like lighter, I guess, and more happier about being a creator and getting to have conversations like this.

So thank you. 

Danny: Why do you think that is? I appreciate that. Thank you. Why do you think that is though?

Akta: I think you just have a very feel good energy about you and you always make me think. You make me think in a more authentic way, like you're always making me think, am I being authentic? Like even the phone call that we had for your podcast, you know, you were just making me think, oh actually authenticity is so important to me and you just remind me of that every time I talk to you.

It's just, I think it's really important and I think a lot of creators will talk about things like growth hacks and you know, the model's way of doing things, whereas you get down to like the core of just being you, which I think is so important and not enough people do it. 

Danny: Thank you so much for saying that.

And also another thing that's come up a few times in the past couple weeks is I feel as if I'm very good at saying what I'm actually feeling. Mm-hmm. And, and that's important because that translates to doing what you actually feel like you should be doing. Yeah. And so often in life, people are trying to put themselves in a world that other people want them to be seen as.

For example, someone asks you to do something and you don't want to do it inside, but you do it just to appease the other person. Mm-hmm. How often can people relate to that? And I'm, I guess, good at saying to someone, no, I don't want that, or, yes, I do want that in that moment. Yeah. And giving, giving that.

And just doing that in a small way leads to big ways. So asking yourself, am I acting in alignment with what I'm actually feeling is such an important question. And the better you get at that skill, the more you will not appease people, and the more you will appease yourself. And that's the, that's the game of life.

That's what I'm really doing at the deepest level. And that's what I hope you're, you're feeling on the other end. 

Akta: Oh, a hundred percent. I think it's so important for our listeners as well, who are creators who are. Constantly surrounded by the noise of, you know, you should be doing this to be, you know, a successful creator.

You should be joining TikTok because that's what's in right now. So I think that's a really powerful message, and I think that's a really powerful thing that will make people think, how can I connect with my audience in an authentic way, is actually listening to myself, being myself. That's. That's genuine.

Um, yeah. So thank you so much for that reminder. My pleasure. You can find Danny on his podcast, YouTube, Twitter, and Instagram. And if you are a creator, check out Passionfroot. We help you to do sponsorships without the hassle.

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